For an $800 premium they should very well be able to design an adequate PSU for it. Anything less than that for that kind of premium is just fraud, IMO.
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Apple's Upcoming BlackMagic eGPU Pro Delayed Until December
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For an $800 premium they should very well be able to design an adequate PSU for it. Anything less than that for that kind of premium is just fraud, IMO.
Considering to buy a Core X and put a Nvidia card in it. Is it completely silent, quiet or noisy?
smirking
macrumors 601
If you want to drive a 5K monitor, Razer isn't an option. 🙁
They're definitely priced at a premium, but there's a reason they cost more. Even if the margin was trimmed back, I don't think these would become budget friendly options.
ThatGuyInLa
macrumors 6502a
InuNacho
macrumors 68010
Naw, that billions they spend on R&D is siphoned into getting you new animojis.
smirking
macrumors 601
It's not an $800 premium. The premium is significant enough. There's no need to exaggerate it. After you factor in the TB3 hub and the premium construction it's an extra $150-$300 over an equivalent product.
I owned one briefly before I returned it because it didn't work well for my needs. It is a NICE piece of kit and it's whisper quiet, which some of us really like. I found myself wanting to come up with excuses to keep it.
FairlyKors
macrumors regular
Wow. So how do Vega 64 GPUs function in small to medium size computer cases where they share a PSU, space, airflow, etc. with other components?
As much as I truly prefer Macs as laptops, if I needed both a laptop *and* and “pro” grade GPU (whatever that means... one that works?) I’m pretty sure I’d go with a reputable PC laptop and check off either the GTX 1070 or 1080 option. Because portability is the idea, right? All else equal, wouldn’t you rather be in front of a nice large monitor with a keyboard and mouse?
Honestly, how is Nvidia (not a company I necessarily like) able to fit a 1070 or 1080 into a laptop— and Mac users are spending over $1K on another waste paper basket that needs to be tethered to a “pro” grade outlet to provide any benefit? It’s extremely un-Apple, dude. Verrry un-Apple. 🙂 I must be missing something here.
JRobinsonJr
macrumors 6502a
I have no direct knowledge, so this is a serious question. Isn't the point of an external GPU (case, power, cooling, connectivity and GPU card) to support the large overhead that for a variety of practical reasons could not be implemented internally? If the answer is yes (and I suspect it is), then 'hefty PSU and cooling' shouldn't be an issue to design. What am I missing?
Yeah, one can't even upgrade the cards in these. For half(!) the price, one can build a Node + RX480-based solution, which isn't much slower (it's perfectly suitable for non-4K gaming, being about 2-3 times faster than the AMD Pro 560(X)). And upgradeable...
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Regretfully, there won't be any Nvidia chips in any Apple devices in the foreseeable future.
The only way to use Nvidia cards with macs is either using old OS X versions + automate-eGPU or (a much better solution) use purge-wrangler ( https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/script-enable-egpu-on-tb1-2-macs-on-macos-10-13-4/ ).
I use the latter on a 2015 13" MBP (2-core U 2.7GHz i5) with a Node + RX480 combo on Mojave to add TB1/2 support and it's absolutely great.
In XCOM 2, for example, thanks to the RX480, the game itself is as playable at 3200*1800 as on a 2017 15" MBP (4-core H 2.9GHz i7), while the iGPU (Iris 6100) on the same 13" wouldn't deliver playability on 1280*720. (On the 2017 15", the game is pretty much playable, but definitely not as good as with the RX480 at 3200x1800, with dGPU, the Radeon Pro 560, at Full HD.). It's just the map loading etc. which is about two times slower compared to the 2017 model - that's both CPU- and storage speed-constrained.
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Highly unlikely we'll ever seen them. In the meantime, just use purge-wrangler.
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Same here, but I maybe leaving it in a few years. This is the first year I didn't buy a new iPhone since I wasn't under contract. I've got my first iPhone on day one. I would have liked the XS MaX. But I'm sticking with my X. Because I don't see much change coming. I may not even upgrade next year. Plus the Price is now is too high.
I got a iMac Pro early this year (Micro Center had $1,000 off), to replace my 2011 MacBook Pro. I haven't been following the CPU stuff for a while but the options you can get now a days is unreal. Apple is dropping the ball on the Mac Pro. I mean just looking at Dell's Precision 7920 Tower. I can do Dual Processor, up to 28 core Processors, up to triple/quad GPUs, 1.5TB of Ram. Yes, I can run the price to over $100,000. I would most like build mine own and save a lot. But Apple has nothing to compete with this.
Why in the world is it taking them so long to come out with a new Mac Pro. Let alone how long it took the Mac mini to be upgraded. There is not Magic here.
With Apple making more and more of their machines not upgradable. The iMac Pro and new Mac mini and not officially user upgradable. Apple is going more Form over Function
FairlyKors
macrumors regular
I’d say editing video on a laptop falls more into the hobbiest or part time editing category than it does a higher end production. (Especially since it’s not really a portable solution.)
TBH, Apple’s eGPU seems to address a weird niche altogether. If you’re a full time video editor with the need for powerful processing, and you work on Apple hardware, then Apple has labeled you a “Pro” and herded you onto an iMac Pro ranging from $5K to $10K.
If you don’t spend all day editing then you’re good with a MBP, since FCPX does so well without a video card (and dealing with proxies for 4K is no big deal)... So I don’t really know where this eGPU fits into the video editing world. A few years ago working with proxy files wasn't as easy as it is now, but now you can edit 4K on an iPad.
charlituna
macrumors G3
Is this an “apple product”. I was under the impression that BlackMagic is an independent company and Apple is only associated with this whole product via a “Made for” certification
If BlackMagic is independent than being late is not a mark against Apple but against their partner
phillpot
macrumors newbie
Quiet, not silent. Likely, the video card that gets installed would make a big difference though. I only can comment on the MSI Vega 64 OC. Its no louder then the Promise pegasus R4s sitting next to it.
Is it really premium construction though if it doesnt work well enough to handle current high-end graphics cards? Graphics cards have generally speaking only needed more and more power and cooling as time has gone on. How's that gonna work for future-proofing? Its a cylinder mac pro all over again. To me premium means built to last in addition to being able to handle current product availability. This thing can't even handle the best current offerings. Its already effectively obsolete. How's that premium?
smirking
macrumors 601
It doesn't fit your definition of an ideal product. That doesn't mean it's not well made. It's well made for what it is. It's a non-upgrageable graphics card enclosure. A lot of people are fine with that. A lot of people might theoretically want to upgrade their graphics card, but never will and that enclosure doesn't have an infinite shelf life.
It's a premium product. It's just the wrong premium product for you.
It was for me too. I'm calling it a premium product even though it was a worse than useless product for me. It was counterproductive.
Lone Deranger
macrumors 68000
Haha... it's not exactly a crowning design achievement is it. 😀 Then again, most non-Apple displays miss the mark on design.
WatchFromAfar
Suspended
Why would AI development favor an nvidia GPU as opposed to an AMD one? or evan an Intel one?
groadyho
Suspended
smirking
macrumors 601
Yeah, it does in the photo. I have the 5K though. I can't remember the last time I even noticed anything other than the screen. It's not the most handsome of products, but when it's on, it doesn't matter.
alien3dx
macrumors 68020
The price is insane, even for a higher-end card like the Vega 56.
It's really quite surprising how a full setup for a Mini, some sort of external storage solution if you can't stomach Apple's insane storage prices, and an eGPU box is supposed to make any sense unless one has money to burn.
Don't get me wrong, it's cute and modular and allows you to use whatever display you wish, but this makes no sense to me at all - just get a top of the line 27 inch iMac and call it a day.
It's really quite surprising how a full setup for a Mini, some sort of external storage solution if you can't stomach Apple's insane storage prices, and an eGPU box is supposed to make any sense unless one has money to burn.
Don't get me wrong, it's cute and modular and allows you to use whatever display you wish, but this makes no sense to me at all - just get a top of the line 27 inch iMac and call it a day.
Unfortunately, Apple's listing didn't specify what year this December falls in.